Destiny: Wretched Eye Strike Guide

By Anthony Taormina 21 September 2016

The Nightfall Strike this week can be brutal, but follow this Destiny: Rise of Iron guide for tips on how to quickly and easily beat Kovik in the Wretched Eye strike.

Destiny: Rise of Iron has finally arrived and with it comes a bunch of new content. There are new story missions to complete, a new social space to explore, new gear to earn, and eventually a new raid to conquer. There is also a new strike called the Wretched Eye added.

As with most new strikes for Destiny, the Wretched Eye strike has been selected as the Nightfall Strike for this week, but there are some things to note. Yes, the Arc Burn modifier can make the Splicer Shanks a real pain at various points throughout the fight, and the Exposure modifier, which doesn’t recharge shields, is a pain, but this is also the first Nightfall Strike of a new expansion, meaning it is much more difficult for players who are not fully leveled.

That being said, it is possible to beat the Wretched Eye strike and its boss, Kovik, with minimal trouble. There is a cheese spot in the strike, for now, and that should help lower light level players complete it and get properly geared.

The strike itself plays out more like a story mission than what most would consider a traditional strike. There aren’t any large gated fights, but rather the progression sees the fireteam moving between nodes and destroying them one-by-one. As players destroy each node they will move deeper and deeper into Bunker Triglav, one of the new areas in the Plaguelands patrol.

Destroying the Nodes in the Plaguelands

Completing these first steps is pretty self explanatory, but players should be cautious at every turn. Depending on the Nightfall modifiers, this strike can be a challenging one, as most SIVA enemies dole out some devastating damage.

Eventually, though, the nodes will all be destroyed and the fireteam will descend into a pit with an ogre. However, this ogre is not an average ogre; it has been experimented on by Fallen Splicers and has had its eye removed.

This ogre is completely immune to weapon damage and is a constant threat. Once free, the ogre will roam around the arena smashing anything in its way. It’s also a much faster ogre, so players won’t be able to kite it around quite as easily as some others.

Beating Kovik and Avoiding the Ogre

But the ogre itself is inconsequential when it comes to beating the Wretched Eye strike. It’s simply there to be a nuisance, while the Fallen Splicer Priest Kovik is the real boss.

Kovik is the Fallen responsible for removing the ogre’s eye and he just so happens to have fused it with a weapon. Like normal ogre eyes, Kovik’s weapon fires fast and can do a ton of damage quickly, so players are advised to keep behind the barricades and keep moving throughout the entire fight. That’s also key because the ogre will be forcing players out of most hiding spots within the strike.

We say most because some players have already found a “cheese spot” in the Wretched Eye Strike. This spot allows one single player the ability to damage Kovik (when it gets into view) and avoid taking any meaningful damage. And if they do, the player can duck behind the cover and recuperate.

The hiding spot is in the back of the room (facing where Kovik spawns) and to the right. Up the slanted wall there will be a piece of cover that one player can tuck themselves behind. It may take a little longer than normal, and chances are only one player will be left on the fireteam, but eventually Kovik will fall using this method. Then players can collect their new Rise of Iron loot, which goes up to the current light level 385 cap.